Gray eyes gleamed in a dimly lit chamber as his mana swirled into an ominous black mist. His voice, cold and devoid of emotion, cut through the air like a blade.
"…He's lived long enough. Kyo, eliminate him—before it's too late."
"Yes, my lord."
A figure clad in black, the crimson glow of a serpent insignia pulsing across his armor, stepped forward. Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished into the shadows, dissolving into mist.
Kyo materialized in the land of Nyxterra, his piercing dark blue eyes scanning the surroundings. As he lowered his gaze, he found Celestia collapsed at his feet. Without hesitation, he reached down, pulling her up effortlessly. His expression remained unreadable as his gaze flickered past her, settling on a lone figure concealed among the treetops.
"Bril…" he muttered under his breath before locking onto another presence—Lyan.
"Come down here."
The moment the words left his lips, space itself warped, and Lyan was forcefully yanked from his perch, reappearing just inches from Kyo. Stumbling back, Lyan's eyes widened in shock.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
Kyo's expression remained cold, unreadable. His voice carried the weight of an inevitable fate.
Without a word, he reached for the twin katanas sheathed at his sides, drawing them in a single fluid motion. The air around him tensed, thick with unseen energy.
Lyan's grip tightened on his own sword as he stepped between Kyo and Zoan. His voice dripped with disdain.
"Who the hell do you think you are? You can't just walk in here and steal my kill."
Before Kyo could respond, a surge of raw energy erupted into the sky. The clouds above twisted and churned, their color deepening into an abyssal black. A suffocating darkness swallowed Nyxterra whole as the grounds trembled under the weight of energy.
"Shit… you just had to interfere." Kyo muttered, exasperation lacing his tone. Without hesitation, he grabbed Lyan by the collar, yanking him back before stepping forward, his twin blades shimmering with a sickly green mist.
Zoan rose to his feet, his missing arm replaced by an abyssal shadow writhing unnaturally. His hair had turned silver streaked with black, cascading past his shoulders, and his eyes glowed an eerie, corrupted grey.
"The vow… I must keep the vow." His voice was warped, layered with something unnatural as the earth trembled beneath him.
The ground split open, birthing nightmares from the abyss. Shadowy hounds, monstrous steeds with burning eyes, and creatures without name or shape crawled forth, their very existence distorting reality itself.
Zoan raised his hand. A weapon materialized—black as the void, pulsating with raw, destructive energy.
"Authority of the Endless Night."
The blade crackled with untamed power, its presence alone making the air dense with malice.
Above, a wyvern soared, but before it could retreat, one of the formless creatures lunged into the sky. A streak of pure darkness shot upward, talons extending, seizing the beast mid-flight.
The wyvern shrieked, flailing as it was dragged down, but there was no mercy. The moment it hit the ground, a swarm of shadowed fiends pounced, their teeth and claws rending through scale, flesh, and bone in mere seconds. Its cries were silenced before it had even fully realized its fate.
Zoan's gaze, cold and vacant, swept across the battlefield.
"The vow… was to destroy a man named Lyan. Who exactly?" His voice twisted, further fragmented by the corruption seeping into his very being.
Kyo exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair before sheathing his blades. "Because of you, I failed. And now? Now, we're all going to pay for your stupidity." His glare shot toward Lyan, frustration and resignation warring in his expression.
Zoan's gaze followed. His gray eyes darkened, locking onto Lyan with predatory focus.
Lyan swallowed hard, stepping back as realization dawned. "I… see. What I saw—it wasn't coming from Bril. It was you." His fingers tightened around his weapon as his body tensed in preparation.
Kyo wasted no time. In a blur, he grabbed both Rosaline and Celestia, vanishing into a swirl of mist. He reappeared on the boat of Lox, placing them down gently before disappearing again, materializing high within the trees, directly above Zoan.
Zoan raised his blade, a silent command rippling through the abyss.
The beasts surged forward.
Lyan barely had time to react before clawed appendages lashed out, seizing his ankle. A force unlike anything he had ever felt dragged him downward—into them.
His screams tore through the battlefield, raw and agonized, but to Zoan, they were nothing more than music.
A symphony of suffering.
Kyo remained motionless above, watching as the darkness consumed what remained of Lyan. His cries faded, swallowed whole, until there was nothing left. No trace of his body, no sign he had ever existed.
"Vows… what a disgustingly powerful thing." Kyo muttered under his breath, his gaze sharp as he observed the chaos below.
Zoan's corrupted eyes snapped upward, locking onto him with unrelenting fury.
"You… tried to kill me."
A guttural snarl tore from his throat as the abyss answered his rage. Shadow hounds surged up the trees, their twisted forms distorting the air as tendrils of darkness spiraled into the sky, converging toward Kyo like a tidal wave of pure malice.
Kyo exhaled, unshaken. With a swift flick of his wrist, talismans shot from his sleeve, glowing with a divine radiance as they scattered through the air.
"Territory of Solitude—I hereby silence thee."
The moment the words left his lips, the talismans ignited, bursting into streams of golden light. The shadows recoiled violently as a vast barrier of radiant energy expanded outward, sealing Zoan within an impenetrable prison.
The creatures screeched, clawing at the edges of their confinement, but the golden energy repelled them effortlessly.
Kyo narrowed his eyes, watching the barrier pulse.
"The only way to counter a vow made through sacrifice… a Territory of Solitude." His voice was calm but edged with grim certainty. "This won't kill him. It won't harm him. But for now… it will hold."
His fingers twitched at his side as he studied the shifting energy around the seal.
"For how long, though… that, I do not know."
The golden prison pulsed with radiant light, illuminating Nyxterra as the ground beneath it shifted. The earth slowly swallowed the barrier, sealing it away beneath layers of soil as grass sprouted and trees stretched skyward, reclaiming the land.
Kyo watched in silence, the glow reflecting in his dark blue eyes. "…This is the only peace I can offer you." His words were barely above a whisper before he turned, vanishing into mist.
A moment later, he reappeared aboard the Lox's ship.
"I am Commander Kyo—Kyo of Solitude Manor." His voice was calm, deliberate. "I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but I must take my leave. I wish you both the best of luck."
He paused, glancing toward the horizon before adding, "If I were you, I'd set course for Sylvaria. The elven festival is in seven months. If you leave soon, you might just make it in time. It's worth seeing." He placed a hand on Rosaline's face before her eye returned to violet.
And just as quickly as he had arrived, Kyo dissolved into mist, leaving only a single slip of parchment in his wake.
Celestia bent down, picking up the paper with a puzzled expression. Her fingers traced the inked markings, eyes widening slightly as recognition set in.
"These are… coordinates," Celestia murmured, memories of her father's old maps surfacing in her mind.
Rosaline stood in silence, her thoughts racing, a thousand questions pressing in on her at once. She took a slow breath, steadying herself. "S-Start the ship," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Without another word, she turned and descended the stairs, retreating to the quarters designed for her.
Celestia exhaled, a smile appearing on her face as she laughed before running a hand through her hair before glancing down at her tattered clothes—slashes lined the fabric across her back. Before she could dwell on it, the sound of hurried footsteps caught her attention.
"W-Wait up!" A voice called out.
She turned just as someone leaped onto the deck, dressed in Lox uniform, breathing heavily. "I-I heard something about the festival in Sylvaria… C-Can I come along?" he asked between ragged breaths.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know how to operate this ship?"
Before he could answer, more figures climbed aboard—the remaining Lox members who had been patrolling the jail, along with a medic.
The young man straightened up, forcing a grin. "Name's Tio. I'm a ship navigator and a captain-in-training… but, uh, I think I'm the best you've got." He let out a weak chuckle, still catching his breath.
Celestia considered him for a moment before nodding. "Then let's get moving."
Without another word, she followed Rosaline's path down the stairs, heading toward one of the many rooms reserved for Lox members.
Tio wasted no time. He climbed to the helm, releasing the sails and adjusting the course. With practiced hands, he turned the ship northwest, setting their heading toward Sylvaria.
Celestia sat alone in the dimly lit room, silence pressing in around her. Slowly, a wide grin stretched across her face.
"This… this is the perfect outcome," she murmured, her voice laced with satisfaction. But after a brief pause, her grin faltered. "Well… aside from losing those two. They would have been really nice to keep around… but fate had other plans."
She exhaled slowly, the weight of reality settling over her. Then, with newfound resolve, she rose to her feet and made her way toward the door.
"This is probably the best opportunity I'm ever going to get," she whispered. "And I won't waste it."